One State Beats Out New York and California for the U.S.'s Smallest Gender Pay Gap

Tuesday, April 10 is Equal Pay Day in the U.S.—the day that marks how far into the new year women must work to earn what men made in the previous 12 months.

The occasion calls for a close examination of the gender pay gap—defined as the difference between the earnings of men and women. Recent Census figures say women earn, on average, $0.81 for ever dollar men take home. The gap is most often referred to in overarching, nationwide terms, yet the National Partnership for Women & Families has published an interactive map that analyzes the gap state-by-state, presenting its impact in dollar terms that hit closer to home.

The map, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, looks at the wage gap for workers in each U.S. state, and breaks it down by race and ethnicity and what women’s lost wages could buy.

The state closest to gender pay parity is Florida, where the average woman earns $5,474 less than the average man. New York and California rounded out the top three most equal paid states. You can explore the data here.

But disturbing trends exist even in the best-performing states. In California, for instance, Latina women are paid a staggering $41,251 less than men, even though the gender pay gap for all women is just shy of $6,000. If a Latina woman were paid the same as a man, she could afford over four more years of childcare, two and a half years of rent, or 4.3 years at a four-year public university.